Diego Catalán facts for kids
Diego Catalán y Menéndez-Pidal (born September 16, 1928 – died April 9, 2008) was a Spanish expert in language and old texts. He passed away from a heart illness in 2008 when he was 79 years old.
Who Was Diego Catalán?
Diego Catalán y Menéndez-Pidal came from a family of important scholars. His parents were Miguel Catalán Sañudo and Jimena Menéndez-Pidal. His grandparents were the famous language expert Ramón Menéndez Pidal and María Goyri de Menéndez Pidal.
Studying Old Times and Stories
Diego Catalán mostly studied the Middle Ages, which is a period of history between about 500 AD and 1500 AD. He led the Ramón Menéndez Pidal Foundation. This foundation works to continue his grandfather's studies.
Catalán was especially interested in Ballads. These are old Spanish songs or poems that tell stories. He helped edit and study these old texts. He also researched the history of the Spanish language.
He organized a big project to collect and save many Hispanic ballads from different places. This project helped keep these old stories alive.
The Ballads Archive
Diego Catalán also owned a special collection called The Ballads Archive. This archive holds many materials for studying language and history. The Ramón Menéndez Pidal Foundation now keeps this archive.
It includes works from the late 1800s until today. Scholars and researchers can use this archive for their studies. This archive was so important that it was considered a "National Treasure." It was even protected in Geneva during the Spanish Civil War.
Images for kids
-
A robot for kids, representing learning.
